Tie plate arrangement for railroads



Oct. 21, 1941. T WVSTEDMAN ?,260,238

TIE PLATE A'RRANGEMENT FOR-RAILROADS Filed Feb. 3, 1939 2 sheets-sheet 1 Oct. 2l, 1941. T w, STEDMAN l I 2,260,238

TIE PLATE"ARRANGEMENT FORRAILROADS Filed Feb. 3, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 n, nl n2 n3 124 R5 bl\ y )I A fw/ INVENTOR zw mm,

Patented Oct. 21, 1941 UNITED ySTATES PATENT OFFICE 2,260,238 a TIE PLATE ARRANGEMENT vFR RAILROADS Theodore W. Stedman, N ew York, N. Y. Application February 3, 1939, Serial No. 254,374

3 Claims.

My invention relates to tie plate arrangements adapted for railroad use. I

My invention has particular reference to a tie plate arrangement wherein lateral movement of the railroad rail is prevented by a novel construction embodying a clip member which forms a detachable part of said tie plate arrangement.

vMy invention has further reference to novel arrangements for decreasing side sway or nosing of the railroad traffic.

My invention has further reference to a tie plate arrangement wherein the resilient or rubber structure thereof is built-up or laminated in a novel manner.

My invention resides in the tie plate arrangements, features and improvements of the character hereinafter described and claimed. l

For an understanding of my invention and for an illustration of some lof the forms thereof, reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which? Figure 1 is a plan view of the tie plate arrangement of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the arrangement shown .inFig. l;

Fig. 2a is a vertical sectional view showing a modification of the invention; y

Fig. 3 is an enlarged, vertical sectional vie vshowing a part of the novel shoe of my tie plate arrangement;

Fig. 3a is a fragmentary, vertical sectional view illustrating a feature of the invention;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the aforesaid shoe;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the novel harness jacket of my invention; and

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional View showing a modification of the invention.

Referring particularly to Figs. 4 and 5, I-I represents a lock clip harness jacket and S represents a shoe, these structures being utilizable in accordance with my invention as hereinafter described.

In the form of the invention herein illustrated, the harness jacket H is a plane piece of steel,l or equivalent, having suitable thickness and preferably of generally rectangular configuration. Acljacent its periphery and on each side thereof, the aforesaid harness jacket comprises a plurality of spaced vertical passages a through which' are adapted to extend the respective fastening members or screw spikes which extend downwardly into 4the cross tie, or equivalent. Inwardly of the passages a, the harness jacket H is Vprovided `with an opening or passage a2 of square, rectangular being bounded on one pair of opposite sides thereof by the respective harness jacket sections through which the passages a extend and said passage a2 being bounded on the other pair of opposite sides thereof by the respective harness jacket rib sections a3, a3. In accordance with the invention, the harness jacket H, along opposite sides thereof, is provided with the respective passages a4 which, preferably and as indicated, merge or open into the aforesaid passage The` aforesaid shoe S comprises a sole plate or base b and a cushion section bl upstanding therefrom. The sole b" comprises a plurality of vertical passages b2 through which downwardly extend the aforesaid respective fastening members or screw spikes as hereinafter more fully described. The cushion section bl, on its periphery, comprises a lower inclined section b3 from which extends the upperyvertical wall surface b4. Extending transversely across the cushion section llil is or are one or more grooves b5 having the characteristics hereinafter described in detail.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1 and 2,' l represents a `wooden railroad cross tie or equivalent,

and 2 represents one of the steel rails of a rail-` road track. Adjacent each end of each of the or other suitable configuration, this passage a2 55 cross ties l is disposed one of the abovedescribed shoes S, the bottom surface of the shoe resting flatwise upon the upper cross tie surface. A harness jacket H is associated with each of the aforesaid shoes S, saidharness jacket H resting upon and conforming generally with those respective sections of the ,supporting shoe S which are outwardly of the cushion section bil thereof, said being disposed above the upper Asurface of said i yharness jacket H, Fig. 2, so that the rail 2 may rest thereon,

It Will be understood that the shoe S and the harness jacket H are of such character that, whenthey are associated together as above described,'the passages b2 of the sole b will vbe -alined with 'the respective passages a of the harness jacket H. Accordingly, it follows that the screw spikes 3, or equivalent, may be passed downwardly through the respective sets of alined passages a, b2 so as to secure the tie plate assembly to the cross'tie, Fig. 2. In this connection, the aforesaid inclinedse'ction b3iserves asa guide to .properly center and maintain the cushion section 'jbl within the passage a2 of the harness 'jacket as' shown in Fig. 1 so that there is 'a by a novelarrangement which, as herein shown,

comprises a pair of lock 'clips 4 forming part of each tie plate assembly, these lock clips being disposed on opposite respective sides of the rail 2, Figs. 1 and 2.

Each lockclip 4 comprises a base section 4a, a

.depending locking section 4b `and an upper CTI clamping section 4c. As clearly shown in Fig. 2,. the-lock clip base section 4a is of plane con-*f* guration and engages fiatwise against theupperijw surface of the harness jacket H, said base section 4a comprising a passage 4d adapted to be alined with the adjacent set of alined passages, a, b2.

The lock clip locking section 4b is received lbythe adjacent passage a4 of the harness jacket I-I, and Y the lock clip clamping section 4c forms the upper part of apocket in which thebase'of the rail 2 srecey'ed'. ,Y ..1 1 fl.. Y M u The hereinbefore described Yshoe S 'may' be and preferably is formed from y'suitable resilient material, Asuch as "natural rubber, vsynthetic .rubber or equivalent, .a pad' of substantially non.` absorbent librous or'iabricl material enveloped by some agentsuchdas rubber, latex or'the'like, etc'. lWhen, the sho'e'S'is v1f'o`rnrie`d from' such resilient material, it is desirable, although not necessary, that each set of alined passages 4d, a be lined vwithfa sleeve 5lwhich, preferably, comprises an integral upper flanged Ysection 5a', this sleeve 5 andits flangedv section 5w preferablyv being formed from -re'silientj materiales above noted and said sleeve v5 being. reinforcedif desired, alithou'gh not necessarily. Withfa'n assemblyof the characte'rdescribed above and as illustratedin Figl 2, it will be understood that the diani'eteofy eachA set of alined passages 4d, a is substantially larg'er'than the diam,-

veter ofthe adjacent passage' b2`o'f the 'shoe S.

Accordingly, the sleeve 5*,se`at's`properly within ,said alined passages 4d, a.' ,'Furthenthepass'age defined bythe interior'. of said .sleeve 5 `andthe adjacent passage b2 o'ffthe shoe` S ar'eof the proper diameter to more or'lesssnugly .receive Athe shank of the associated s'cr'ew'spike.

From the foregoing,v it lclearlyappears'that each tieA plate assembly comprises. a' shoes and an associatedharnessjacket I-ILI Thesolev b of the shoe S rests :uponJthe cross tie and the base of the rail rests upon the cushion sectionbl of said shoe S. Two screwspikes 3, or equivalent,`on each side of the rail 2 secure the assembly-tothe cross'tie and, on` each side. of said'rail 2, one

screw spike 3 extends'V downwardly throughthe passage. 4dofthe adjacentlock clip14, the pas,-

sagea of the harness jacket and thealined pas.- sage b2 of the shoe S so as to therebyjsecure said lock clip 4 in position to prevent lateraliorside fmovernentfof the'rail`2. Theothe'rscrew spike 3 on each side of the rail 2 .is not associatedwith a lock clip 4 and,I therefore, saidlast namedj'screw Vspike extends d'ownwardly'through the. adjacent ypassage a of the harness jacketand the ,alined passage b2 f'the shoe S. When jthetie` plate arrangement embodies the'described sleeves `5it willv be 'understood' that 'these sleeves vwilljlrave different heights, respectively, as well'shownzat ,the left and right of Fig. 2., v

. The advantages Iof a n arrangementffbf :character described are numerousfandy ofim- .portanca .I nthgrstgpleea @@Pff?? @1P-9er 75 ,against the Wheel iianlge's."v

shoe in combination with the harness jacket cushions the shock of trafic, lengthens the life of the road bed and rolling stock, decreases expense items, etc., etc., all as described in detail in U. S. Letters Patent No. 2,110,894. In the second place, the lock clips 4 serve the particularly useful purpose of enabling the harness jackets H to be plane, flat sheets of steelno special rolls are required for the production thereof. These harness jackets may be plane as specified because the lock clips serve. as the shoulders against which the base of the rail abuts. Further,

the lock clips serve the useful purpose of eliminating the regular gauge spikes which would otherwise berequired.

Y From another view point, the use of the assembly comprising the spike 3 and lock clip 4 serves three purposes, namely, (l) as the anchor spike, `(2) vas the gauge spike, and (3) as the shoulder against which the base of the rail abuts.

This is a great simplication as regards prior art practice. f

- The use of the sleeves 5 isdesirable particularly in those installations where the locomotive operation'fis effected' by electrical power.v 'Asclearly appears from Fig. 2, the rail 2Y is'completely in; sulated, in an electrical sense, fromthe cross tie, or equivalent. This condition would not'exist if the sleevesv 5 ,were omitted.y It shall be understood, however, that my invention is not to be limited to the use of rthese sleeves 5. l The hereinbefor'e described groove bisknown asV a lgraduated deflection' groove and forms an important feature of my 'present invention.

The depth of this groove in vthe` cushion section bl gradually decreases in a direction from left the rolling stock from side sway, .In case` theA gauge is somewhat wide, the groove b5 tends to contract the same duringpassage of the rolling stock.. In case they gauge .issomewhat narrow, said groove b5 tends toexpand the same as the rolling stock passes 'thereover In other Words, the deilection groove'y bjvhasrthe desirablequality of tending to .conne' the" track at all times "Referring to 'Fig'.2, the-top surface of the Vcushion section bl is shown as canted 'so that the railv tilts inward toward the center of thetrack. The degree ofths'cant maybe such as is suitable, for example, 1,:201i:l10`,"1:60, etc. While the cantarrangement of Fig.' 2 visproperly operative, a more preferable arrangement, when usinga non-cantedharness jacket' of uniform thickness as shown in said'Figzj2'involves a sole plate b as'illustrate'd 'in' Fig. 2a wherein that side of the solel platebshown .at thev rightk is of greater thickness `than Vthev sidethereo-f Ashown at the left." In this connection','it should benoted that the cantedl arrangement asplshown in Fig.,2. is

preferredwhen the harness 4rjacketis one which is converted'frcrnan` existingimetallic tie plate `ofthe-canted type whereas the canted Varrangement of Fig. 2ajis preferred when the'harness jacket is one which' is converted from an existing Lmetallio. tie plate of the non-canted type. jv'Thus, inlaccordancewithmyinvention, the rails'lmayibejcantedi inwardly in any suitable In accordance with a preferred form of the invention, the hereinbefore described shoe S is formed in part from a plurality of built-up layers of material which contribute in an important sense to improved operating efliciency. Thus, as shown in Fig. 3, it is desirable for the sole plate b of said shoe S to comprise a lower layer m having a thickness approximately of 1&4" and constructed from very high modulus vulcanized rubber. Directly above this layer m, there is a tightly woven fabric sheet mI, or equivalent, having a thickness of 3%" approximately. Overlying the sheet ml, there are two or more spaced open-Weave friction fabric sheets m2 having a thickness of approximately 3%".

Preferably, the cushion section bl comprises an upper layer n of very high modulus vulcanized rubber having a thickness of approximately %4. Directly below the rubber layer n, there is disposed a tightly woven friction fabric sheet nl having a thickness of approximately gli". Below the sheet nl, there is disposed two or more open-weave friction fabric sheets n2 having a thickness of approximately s. Beneath the fabric sheets n2, there is disposed a plurality of rubber layers n3, n4, n5, each having a thickness of approximately le" and these rubber layers being formed, respectively, from very high modulus vulcanized rubber, high modulus vulcanized rubber, and medium modulus vulcanized rubber, for example. Between the rubber layer 'n5 and the upper fabric layer n2, the shoe S is formed, preferably, from a mass r of low modulus Vulcanized rubber.

A built-up constructionof the character described above is used so that the rubber shoe S as a whole may have the correct cushioning or deflecting qualities. As clearly appears, the builtup arrangement is of such character that it is adapted to withstand shock or impact at the upper and lower surfaces while remaining highly resilient to a desired degree through the major interior area thereof.

In accordance with an important feature of the invention, it is desirable that preferably all of the fabric layers ml, m2 and 11.2 terminate interiorly of the outer boundaries of the shoe S, Figs. 3, 3a. Further, as shown in ysaid Figs. 3, 3a, it is desirable that the fabric layers ml, m2 terminate short of the vertical surfaces defining the passages b2. In this manner, said fabric layers are effectively sealed by the rubber and hence are incapable of serving wick-fashion to conduct moisture or other agents or damaging substances interiorly of the rubber structure. In this fashion, the life of said rubber structure is increased greatly compared to an arrangement wherein such wick action exists.

graduated deflection groove b5, the built-up construction described above and illustrated in Fig. 3 and the centering arrangement for the cushion section are not to be limited to use with the lock clip tie plate arrangement of this application. As well, for example, the features referred to immediately above may be embodied in other rubber tie plate arrangements such, for example, as described in my aforesaid U. S. Letters Patent No. 2,110,894 and otherwise as will be understood.

In Fig. 6, I have illustrated my invention as having application to a concrete supporting structure III which is utilized in lieu of the cross tie arrangement of Figs. 1 and 2. Cast interiorly of the supporting structure rIll is a nut member II which is disposed below a plate I2, access to said nut member II being had by way of the sleeve I3. A bolt I4 passes downwardly through the alined passages of the lock clip, the harness jacket and the sole plate, said bolt I 4 being threaded into the nut member II so as to retain the parts in assembled relation.

While the invention has been described with respect to certain particular preferred examples which give satisfactory results, it will be under-l stood by those skilled in the art after understanding the invention, that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and it is intended therefore in the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A tie plate arrangement comprising a cushion section of rubber-like material adapted to form a seat for the base of a railroad rail, and a deflection groove extending downwardly into said cushion section and being adapted to be disposed transversely of said rail, said groove having maximum depth at the inside of said rail and the groove depth gradually decreasing toward the outside of said rail.

2. A tie plate arrangement comprising a cushion section adapted to form a seat for the Referring particularly tc Figs. 1 and 5, the 'A herein described passage a2 of the harness jacket I-I is shown as of generally square or rectangular configuration and the corners of said passage are rounded or curved as shown. Further as illustrated on the drawings, the corners of the cushion section Vbl are rounded or curved in correspondence with the configuration at the corners of said passage a2. This is advantageous because eliminating any tendency of the cushion section to wedge in a corner of 'the harness jacket. If such wedging should occur, normal deflection would be obstructed and there would be a possibility that the rubber material might be torn under the weight of traflic.

It shall be understood that the herein described base of a railroad rail, the upper portion o-f said cushion section, in descending relation, comprising an upper layer of high modulus rubber,` a friction fabric sheet, and one or more layers of lower modulus rubber, the lower portion of said cushion section, in ascending relation, comprising a lower layer of high modulus rubber and one or more friction fabric sheets, said cushion section, throughout the intermediate portion thereof, being formed from low modulus rubber. 3. In a tie plate arrangement for a railroad rail, a metallic harness jacket having an interior wall surface dening a passage extending vertically therethrough, a resilient cushion section dispo-sed in said passage so as to form a seat for the rail, the cross-sectional area of said cushion section being less than the cross-sectional area of said passage, and means coacting with said wall surface of the harness jacket for centering the cushion section in said passage, said means comprising a projecting section of said cushion section which extends into engagement with at least a part of the wall surface of each side of the harness-jacket, the area of said projecting section being small compared with the area` of the vertical sides of said cushion section whereby substantially the entire area of said vertical sides of the cushion section are spaced from the adjacent vertical sides of the harness jacket.

THEODORE W. STEDMAN. 

